Khristian Vargas, RN, is my wonderful preceptor and amazing role model as a leader. I am nominating him for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award in appreciation of all that he has done for me and because I believe that he is truly deserving of this award. As I am a nurse from Japan, an international nurse, my preceptor must certainly have a more difficult job than other preceptors because of the language barrier. Furthermore, in nursing, I am more than willing to clarify what I don't understand, rather than leave it as I don't understand it. Thus, I keep asking questions until I understand, and I also ask questions about details that people normally wouldn't be concerned about. Moreover, due to the language barrier, I cannot ask questions straightforwardly, and I sometimes wonder about things that are obvious to native speakers. However, Khristian has a positive outlook on questions and is open-minded. So, he tries his best to understand my questions and even explains in various ways what is generally taken for granted until I understand.

Even in these stressful situations, he is always calm and attentive. The content he teaches is not only about nursing and procedures but also about culture and language. He also tries to give me as much experience as possible, even when he and I are busy with critical care patients. He would not only teach me with words but would also show me what great nursing is and what I should do.

Recently Khristian and I were in charge of a patient and her family, for whom only symptomatic treatment was available and no radical treatment was possible. Since we were treating the symptomatic treatment, it was easy for the patient and family to misunderstand that we were treating the patient and family for a complete cure. In such a situation, Khristian recognized the discrepancy in understanding of the treatment from the conversation with the patient and family, and asked the physician team for further IC. In fact, the family misunderstood the treatment as a root cure rather than a symptomatic treatment. After the physician's IC, the family broke down in tears. At that time, Khristian intervened to support them. He also carefully explained the possibilities of what might happen in the future.

Later, just as the family members were getting somewhat settled, the patient suddenly coded right in front of them, and although resuscitation was attempted, the patient died. In the end, the family thanked us directly, but it would not have been possible without the intervention of Khristian. Furthermore, Khristian himself was in a state of shock due to the patient's sudden change from a state in which he was able to respond to the patient's questions clearly. Even in such a situation, he immediately recovered his composure and showed concern for my mental state as a preceptor. His constant attention to those around him is the kind of behavior I aspire to. He is a huge influence on my nursing career.

Khristian also helps me build relationships with my team members. I was still unfamiliar with the New Orleans culture, which made it difficult for me to join in conversations with other team members. However, Khristian shows up daily with a smiling face and grateful heart, and has been very open to talking to me, adding to the conversation with team members, and making it easier for me to speak. Thanks to him, I am able to join in the conversation more easily, and I am gradually able to talk to my team members. As I moved here alone without family or friends, I really appreciate this, and now I feel like I am part of the team and CICU is a place where I can feel at home. I felt he was truly a team leader as he facilitated my integration into the team, even though I am not a very social person.

I also have great stories to tell about Khristian as a preceptor, team leader, and nurse. He not only supported me in the workplace, but he also helped me to be the best I could be in the workplace. I used to walk to work from home, but one day, my legs were numb because my apartment is 2.5 miles from Ochsner and not on a bus line conducive to my on-time arrival to work. My commute walking took 1 hour each way and I was sweating like crazy before working. After Khristian found this out, he reached out to several people. The team decided to collect money to purchase a bicycle for me. Biking to work would take about 20 minutes. Khristian talked to each member about this project. Then, he posted a request for donations to the CICU Facebook page. The response from CICU team members was overwhelming! On Saturday, I was presented with the bicycle, a lock to secure it and a pump for the tires. To be honest, I was too surprised to think anything when I received it. But after I heard this story and the process to manage this gift, I was moved and could not believe how extraordinarily compassionate Khristian and the CICU team members are. At the same time, I really appreciate the environment in which I can work with this amazing member, Khristian, and the CICU team members. Also, I am grateful that now I am a part of this wonderful team.

For me, this kind of story would be only on social media somewhere in this world, not around me, but now it is real and a part of my life. I am so appreciative, and it feels like a dream, no more hour runs to work! No more sweat before working! I was elated and no words would be ever enough. The bike has changed my life. Not only do I come to work easily, but my daily movements expanded a lot. My territory was limited to around my home, but now, I can go anywhere I want in New Orleans. Because I want to show my appreciation for Khristian’s contribution and share these incredible stories, I would love to recognize him as a DAISY Nurse.